Clashes Continue in Egypt Over Constitution

Clashes Continue in Egypt Over Constitution

The final vote on Egypt's new Islamist constitution is this weekend, and supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi -- a long-time member of the Muslim Brotherhood -- continue to clash in the streets, CBN News reports. The opposition, led by the National Salvation Front, says the new constitution, which elevates Islamic sharia law, will suppress women and minorities and lead to even more violence. On Thursday in the port city of Alexandria, police fired tear gas to separate radical Salafists and Muslim Brotherhood members from Egyptians opposed to the Islamist takeover as both sides threw rocks at each other. Chanting "Allahu akbar [Allah is greater]" and "With blood and soul we redeem Islam," Morsi's supporters called for a "million-man rally to defend clerics and mosques" on Friday. Christians in southern Egypt say they have been intimidated and blocked from voting by the Muslim Brotherhood, and residents in some village say they were pelted with stones when they tried to vote last weekend.